Car-coupling



0. SC'HLEIGHER. GAR COUPLING llNrTEn STATES PATENT Quince,

CHARLES SCHLEICHER, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 561,527, dated June 2,1896.

Application filed January 14, 1896. Serial No. 575,497. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES SCHLEICI-IER, of Louisville, in the countyof Jefferson and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Gar-Couplings; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of referencemarked thereon, which form part of this specification.

This invention is an improvement in carcouplings of the twin-jaw type;and it consists in the novel construction of the coupling-head andswinging jaw, and in novel devices for locking. the swinging jaws, andin other minor details of construction and combinations of partshereinafter described and claimed. 7

The best form of the coupling now known to me is constructed asillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l. is a topplan View of two couplings interlocked or coupled. Fig. 2 is a plan viewof one of the couplings detached with the swinging jaw thrown back. Fig.3 is a transverse section on line 3 3, Fig. 2, showing the jaw-lockingdevices in elevation. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section on line 4 4:, Fig.3, with the jaw coupled. Fig. 5 is a diagonal vertical transversesection on line 5 5, Fig. 4.

The draw-bars A resemble in plan an or dinary J annoy-type couplerclosed; but in my invention the hook portion a of the drawbar (whichcorresponds to the closed swinging jaw of the J anney coupler) is formedrigidly with the remaining portions of the draw-bar and does not swing.Instead the hooks a a form rigid or unyielding bumpers which present thedraw-bars jamming the pivots of the swinging jaws in coupling, and,moreover, in my coupling give each swinging locking-jaw, when locked, asolid bearing-surface in pulling-that is, in the ordinary Janney typesof coupling the swinging jaws interlock with other swinging jaws. In mytype the swinging jaw interlocks with an unyielding rigid part of thedraw-bar. The advantages of this form of construction therefore are thatonly half the draft strain comes on the pivot of each swinging jaw, andthus lighter pins may be used and greater durability is attained.

Fig. 1 of the drawings.

In the outer side of the hook at of the drawbar is a recess a, in whichthe shank Z) of the swinging jaw B is pivoted by means of a verticalbolt b, passing through suitable openings in the draw-bar.

The jaw 13 is so curved, as shown, that its front end will slip past andbehind the rigid hook a of an opposite draw-bar in coupling, and whenlocked so that it cannot swing laterally the draft strain will betransferred from bolt 1) through the jaw to the rigid hook of theopposite drawbar, as is evident from In the front face of the hook (whencoupled) is a locking-access B, which is engaged by a locking device onthe draw-bar with which it is coupled, which locking device isconstructed as follows:

C designates a locking-bar which lies in a horizontal transverse slot inthe draw-bar just in rear of the jaw-recess, and said bar has a taperedenlargement O at its locking end which fits in a correspondiugly-taperedenlargement of the slot, so that the lockingbar cannot escape at thatside of the drawbar and has to be inserted before the swinging jaw isfastened in place. At the inner end of enlargement O is a shoulder Gwhich is adapted to engage in the recess 13 of a swinging jaw whencoupled, and thus lock the jaw in place. The bar also has on its frontface an enlargement G which (when the bar is in unlocking position) isadapted to be engaged by the end of a swinging jaw entering the recessof the draw-bar, so that the jaw will push the locking-bar into lockingposition when it fully enters the recess. The lockingbar is then lookedin position to retain the jaw in coupled position by means of aretaining-bolt D, which is hung at one side of the draw-bar, in rear ofjaw B, on a short transverse leverE, pivoted on a lug A"= rising fromthe top of the draw-bar. The end of bolt D drops into a slot or notch O'in the outer end of the locking-bar and effectively locks it inposition, as indicated in the drawlugs.

When it is desired to uncouple, the bolt D is raised by depressing theproper end of lever E, and a pull on the draw-bars causes thelocking-hook to move out, thereby drawing locking-bar C back untilrecess B clears shoulder O the rigid hook a.

It will be understood that when two couplings of my type are coupledthere is a double connection between the draw-bars, if both swingingjaws are looked, as they should be. In this case if either draw-barshould pull away from its fastenings it will be upheld by the otherdraw-bar, for when the locking-bars are engaged with the recesses B theswinging jaws cannot be disengaged from the drawbars by rising orfalling, and this is a very useful feature of my invention, as adraw-bar falling on the track may cause serious accidents.

If desired, the head portions of the drawbars, containing operative orinterlocking portions, may be pivoted to the stock portions, asindicated at K, Fig. 1. This will enable the couplings to couple onshorter curves and turn short curves with very little strain upon thedraw-bar fastenings or the swinging jaws.

I do not confine myself, except where di rectly stated in the claims, tothe peculiar locking devices for the swinging jaws herein shown. anddescribed, as changes thereon could be readily devised by skilfulmechanics while using the main features of my invention.

WVhen the swinging hook is turned fully back out of the way, thedraw-bar may be coupled to an ordinary Janney-type coupling, theswinging jaw of the latter engaging This is a decided advantage of mycoupling over others of the hookand-catch type. The rigid hooks a are inthe front ends of draw-bars, not on the side, so that when coupled thedraft strain is in a straight line.

Having thus described my invention, what I therefore claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters'Patent thereon, is-

1. In a hook-and-catch car-coupling, the combination of a draw-barshaped like a drawbar of the J anney type with its hook closed andrigid; and adapted to'serve as a bumper; a swinging jaw pivoted to thedraw-bar and having its front end curved and adapted to project in frontof the hook to engage the similar hook of an opposite coupling, anddevices on the draw-bar whereby the swinging jaw of the oppositecoupling can be locked to the rigid hook of the draw-bar when engagedtherewith, substantially as described.

2. The herein-described hook-andcatch car-coupling consisting of a pairof draw-bars each shaped like a draw-bar with closed hook of the J anneytype, such hook however being formed rigid with the draw-bar and adaptedto serve as a bumper; with a swinging curved jaw hinged to each draw-barat the point usually occupied by the pivot of the swinging hook of the Janney type said hooks being adapted to engage with the rigid hooks ofthe opposite draw-bar, and lookin g devices on the draw-bars adapted toengage and lock swinging jaws of the opposite coupling, substantially asand for the purpose described.

In a car-coupling the combination of a draw-bar having a rigidlocking-hook; a swinging jaw pivoted beside the hook and adapted toproject in front thereof to engage with another draw-bar; and lockingdevices in rear of said rigid hook, consisting of a laterally-slidinglatch-bar, and a locking-bolt therefor, substantially as and for thepurpose described.

4. The combination with the draw-bar, of the swinging-jaw-lockingdevices, consisting of the bar 0, having shoulder (1 and enlargement Cand means for locking said bar, substantially as described.

5. The combination of the draw-bar having a horizontal transverse slotand the lockingbar 0 lying in said slot having tapered enlargements O,shoulder C and enlargement C with the bolt for locking said bar, and thedevices for lifting said bolt, all substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I aflix my signati'irein presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES SCHLEICHER.

lVitnesses:

A. G. RONALD, CLAUDE W. J OHNSON.

